


As the World Falls Down

by BabylonSabby



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Afterlife, David Bowie - Freeform, Death, Ghosts, Homestuck - Freeform, M/M, Magic, Meta, NSFW links, Soul Mate AU, Swearing, but all the fanfic universes as well., callmearcturus, dirk strider - Freeform, dirkjake - Freeform, inspired by several fanfics, jake english - Freeform, jakedirk - Freeform, labrynth, lewd flirting, only in this universe he's entirely alone and has been his whole life, sburbanite, so he gets a little bitter when he sees other versions of himself get happy endings., soul mates, this takes place in a random universe where dirk's able to see not only the canon universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-17
Updated: 2018-05-17
Packaged: 2019-05-03 03:56:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14560338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabylonSabby/pseuds/BabylonSabby
Summary: Dirk's dead and alone and not happy about it. But good things come to those who wait. And he's been waiting a literal lifetime for the surprise he gets in the end.





	As the World Falls Down

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [everybody on your knees and testify](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14288952) by [Commakaze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Commakaze/pseuds/Commakaze), [Joyfulldreams](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joyfulldreams/pseuds/Joyfulldreams), [Madame la Problématique (callmearcturus)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/callmearcturus/pseuds/Madame%20la%20Probl%C3%A9matique), [mimsical](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mimsical/pseuds/mimsical), [stormbourne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormbourne/pseuds/stormbourne). 



Any other night this would have been the same club he fucked you in when he was a god and doing a shit job at not being manipulative and dominant. Not that you cared much. You were into that kind of thing. Doms, anyway. Being manipulated? Not so much. You had to turn that dream off for a second and get away. Getting away entailed you going to that exact same club, vacant though it was, now. There was no music, no dancers. Darkness shrouding the dance floor. You nestled yourself in that booth, left to your suffocating thoughts, and stared at the table in front of you. Your body felt heavy. That dream was a rough one, exciting, but stressful, and your heart pounded for a while from it. But now that it was calmed down, you felt emptier than you did before you witnessed the dream.

These were not dream bubbles you were wandering into. They were windows. Every now and then, the Multiverse would have its own Dream, a multitude of dreams coalesced into one, and you got to see them all take place at once. You got to see the various timelines of these universes merge and watch the characters within them live their lives as if nothing happened. They didn’t know you were watching them. They didn’t know they were  _you_.

That last one was a  _doozy_. It was fun, for what it was, and you expected it to dish out more fun, later. But tonight, you couldn’t handle it. Your brain was fucked up. You weren’t in the right place. And like a lot of the other dreams you’d seen, this one made you ache with loneliness. You were run down, tired, and exhausted. For too long you’d seen these versions of yourself fall in love and for too long had you remained in your own Bubble, your own, tiny, universe, alone…and dead. Life, for you, didn’t end with your final breath. It kept ticking and it dragged on, and on, and on. This Afterlife was empty. There were no friends, no strangers. Just you. It was literally your own, personal Hell, because in this Hereafter, there was only you and you were left to nothing but these dreams and your thoughts. You were already dead. There wasn’t another death after this; no way to end your suffering. You had no choice but to keep trudging on, putting one foot in front of the other, until something remotely interesting happened.

These dreams were the only interesting thing that  _did_ happen, anymore. But these days, they made you weep. How  _dare_ he. How dare he be happy and not you? Even in the Main Universe, he was happy! And here you were, wallowing in your own, disgusting failure.

There was no one around to hear you, but you broke down, anyway. With your back propped against the wall of the booth and your ass sliding slowly towards the edge of the seat, you started to cry, your fingers clenching into fists at your side. You didn’t see him when he approached you, but you heard his voice and immediately froze.

“This is no place for crying, chum, this is a place for dancing.”

The voice immediately drew your attention toward its owner. It was Jake, because of course it was, and he was beautiful. Like you, there were no signs that he was dead. No whited-out eyes, no wounds signifying an untimely death. Just his pure, sweet, dapperly dressed self. You were pretty sure he wouldn’t be here if he was alive, but then again, this was Jake. Jake could do just about anything if he set his mind to it. What perplexed you even more was how he was dressed. It wasn’t anything you’d seen him wear to date in any of the dreams, but you couldn’t complain. He looked gorgeous in it. You weren’t sure what to call the ensemble, but it seemed to come straight off an 18th-century aristocrat. His breeches were tucked into long, black boots, and a white, lace-trimmed cravat peeked out the neck of an extravagant, royal blue, velvet coat. The lot of it really complimented his chocolate colored skin, making its warm tones pop even more.

You were going to worry about  _why_ he was dressed this way later, because now there were more important matters at hand. “Why are you here?” you asked.

“Do you not want me here?” he responded, worry and disappointment immediately welling in his eyes.

You turned in your seat, facing him. “No! No. That’s not what I meant. I just meant…How are you here? Why? After I’ve been alone all this time?”

Jake smiled, his green eyes softening. His arms were folded behind his back as he rocked on his feet, to-and-fro. “I guess it was my time. The Universe decided to let me come here.”

You puzzled, making a stern face. “Here? But I’ve always been alone, here. Even in my old life I was alone.”

Jake took a step forward, his hands sneaking out from behind him. “You needn’t be alone anymore, sugar bean.”

“I don’t understand.” You shook your head, looking away. “This was  _my_ Hell. And I was always able to see you in the dreams, but how were you able to see me? How do you even know I exist?”

“You’ve  _been_ in my dreams, Dirk. I’ve always known you.”

This begged the question, “What was your life like?” You returned your gaze, staring into his candy green pools as if trying to see the secrets behind them.

“Oh, it was an ordinary one, I must say,” he said, looking a bit shy. “I don’t think I ever questioned life or sought any deeper meanings in it.”

You rolled your eyes, but smiled wistfully all the same. “Of course you didn’t.”

“Except when I dreamed of you,” Jake continued, taking another step forward. His closeness made your breath hitch in your throat and your heart…come alive. “I was married with a wife and kids; thought my silly dreams of this strapping young man would finally come to a close, now that I’d found my life mate. But they didn’t. Time went on and the only time I saw you was when I was deep in sleep. Sometimes I remembered you vividly. Sometimes I didn’t. When I was old, I went to sleep for the last time.”

Your eyes were welling with tears again as you thought about Jake living such a long life and dreaming of you all the while. This was his final dream. You felt no shame in showing your emotions to him when other versions of you might have. Those versions hadn’t lived as you had. They only  _thought_ their hearts were splintered. They knew nothing of this, whatever it was that made you so incredibly fragile. There was no point in being strong; no point in hiding such emotions. It was your soul. It was going to leak out whether you wanted it to or not.

“I know everything about you, now,” Jake said, close enough, now, that he could reach out and palm the side of your face. His hand was so warm. “The Dream told me. It was mine all along.”

“Yours?” You asked. As in…the Multiverse’s Dream? That which made all dreams come together into one? 

“Yeah,” Jake breathed, smiling.

Crystal tears immediately trickled down the sides of your face. “Of course it was.” You tried to smile with him despite the cracking of your voice and the lingering sorrow in your eyes. Despite these, you were so happy to have him near; so happy not to be alone anymore.

He seemed to know this and took both sides of your face into his hands, now, before leaning down to kiss your lips. You crocked out a sob, but fought against any more in the desperate attempt to kiss him back. You succeeded, if only for a moment, before crumbling once more into whimpers. You buried your face against his chest, dampening that gorgeous coat and cravat of his with your tears.

“Oh, darling, you must be so distraught,” he said as he wrapped his arms around you. “You poor, wounded thing. Whoever hurt you like this will get a taste of my fist when I find them.  _If_ I find them.”

You shook your head. “It was everyone in my old life. It was everything. Not even my friends could save me.”

You didn’t need to tell him you committed suicide in order to get here. He already knew.

He held you tighter, stroking between your shoulder blades and up the back of your neck where you were really sensitive. He knew you liked it. He knew how to do it  _right_. “Hush, hush, little one, it’s alright. We’re not in that world anymore. It’s just you and me, now. We can make this our own Paradise.”

He was smiling widely when you looked back up at him. You believed every single word he said and it filled you with such peace that you shivered and sighed all of the remaining tension out of your body. You didn’t know what happiness was until you saw Jake English, the man of your dreams, smiling down at you.

“Dance with me?” he piqued, gesturing toward the still empty dance floor.

Smiling at long last and blinking away any stray tears, you nodded. With his hand in yours, the two of you trailed away from the booth and to the place where you belonged, on the shiny, black dance floor with the shimmering ghosts of loved ones from the Past and Beyond dancing alongside you. There was music playing, now, and it was soft and soothing, having a bittersweet, but romantic quality to it that made your heart shiver as you enveloped yourself in Jake’s presence. Your heart was whole when it had never been. Not a crack or splinter in sight.

“So, what’s with the Lestat de Lioncourt getup?” you finally asked in your dreamy state.

“Have you not seen Labrynth? With David Bowie?”

“Oh, of course! I forgot that movie even existed.”

“How  _dare_ you, Dirk Strider.”

You laughed at his expense. “That’s really naughty of me, isn’t it? Maybe you’ll have to punish me for it, later.” You smirked.

“You can lay whatever kinky thoughts in your head to rest, young man. The only punishment you’re getting is to watch that damn movie with me later, after we’re done cutting a rug.”

“Dang it. Can I get a Death 2?”

“Don’t you dare even  _think_ that!”

You threw your head back and laughed. “I’m just kidding! I suppose I can suffer Labrynth with you if it means at least getting laid in the morning.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal, old chap.” Jake’s expression was determined, if not diabolical. He’d stopped waltzing with you long enough to extend his hand to complete the bargain. You took it and he gave a rigorous shake. “Now, where’s your dancing feet, Strider, the night’s not over, yet!”

“They’re right here,” you responded blissfully as he tugged you into another spin. Hell this no longer was. It was  _Heaven_.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys liked it. I think it would work really well as a grand, multi-chapter fic. But I'll leave Arc to the massive, sweeping novels. I've only got the stamina for one-shots.


End file.
